


Day 3 - Kwami swap

by AAfanbug (TheEyeofTheOncomingStorm)



Series: Ladrien June 2018 [3]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen, Kwami Swap, Ladrien June, post-Dark Owl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-19 00:21:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14863125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEyeofTheOncomingStorm/pseuds/AAfanbug
Summary: They had thought that the incident with Dark Owl was the closest they would ever come to losing their miraculouses.They were wrong.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Finally working on my much-awaited Kwami swap fic. Actually, Miraculous swap. Same diff.

Chat Noir and Ladybug fought to get free, but their bindings held tight. Alya hid in the shadows of the warehouse, trying to think of something she could do helt the two teen heroes, but nothing came to mind. If she had been Rena Rouge, she could have made a mirage to distract the akuma and it’s minions. She looked around for a weapon, and her eyes fell upon the fuse box on the other side of the room. She grinned as a thought hit her.

_I don’t need to be Rena Rogue to cause a distraction._

Back in the main part of the warehouse, Chat and Ladybug had stopped struggling. There was no use.

“I’m sorry, m’lady.” Chat said.

“It’s not your fault, Chat.” Ladybug assured him.

“Stop talking!” The akuma growled. “And hold still while I take your miraculouses!”

As akuma reached for Chat’s ring, Ladybug shut her eyes, but Chat shouted at her.

“Hey, if Hawkmoth finds out who we are, we should know too!”

“But-”

“I didn’t want us to reveal our identities like this.” Chat said. “But there’s no way that Hawkmoth is going to know more about us than we know about each other.”

She felt sick. She felt like she failed. But she forced herself to keep her eyes open. Chat was right. There was no way she was going to let Hawkmoth get any more of an advantage than he needed.

Chat’s eyes were shut tight as the ring was pulled free from his hand and his transformation fell. He didn’t want to see Ladybug’s reaction to his civilian identity.

Ladybug’s jaw dropped in shock, and she nearly forgot about everything else, including the akuma. She nearly missed a very quiet “yes!” from Alya. Then darkness fell.

“No!" The akuma shouted. "Get the Ladybug miraculous!” 

Ladybug started struggling against her bonds again.

“No!” She cried as she felt her earring being taken and her transformation dropped. Then the minion that had been taking her earrings get hit by something, and he fell to one side.

“Ladybug, are you okay?”

“Alya?” She said, shocked. “What are you doing?”

“Saving your two hero butts.” Alya started working on the ropes that held Marinette down. “Adrien’s trying to find your miraculouses.”

“So, wait, you know who he is but you still don’t know who I am?” Marinette checked.

“Not unless you want me to know.” Alya sighed. “All this time and work, and I still don’t know who you really are.”

“Ladybug was right to choose you as Rena Rouge!” Tikki said. “You’re a hero, with or without a miraculous!

“Tikki!” Marinette was relieved. “You’re still here!”

“Of course!” Tikki chirped. “I’d only disappear if you removed your miraculous willingly.”

“Good to know.” Marinette sighed.

“So I’m guessing that Tikki is your kwami?” Alya asked.

“Yup!” Tikki said brightly.

Alya finished getting through the ropes, and Marinette sprang up. “Quick let’s find those miraculouses before the lights come back on!”

“Look out!” Adrien shouted, and one of the akuma’s minions fell next to them, and heard the two miraculouses skittering across the floor. Adrien and Marinette dove for them, but soon realized they had the wrong ones. However, there was no time to swap. WIthout a word, they donned their partner’s miraculous, and their chorusing shouts rang the air.

“Transform me!”

The lights came back on, and there were two new heroes standing there. Alya’s eyes went wide.

“Oh… my… god.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I favor the english version of their transformation phrases (spots on/claws out), using the simple phrase "transform me" works better for this fic.


	2. Chapter 2

There was no time for the heroes to get their bearings, however. Deciding not to risk using powers they were not familiar with, they relied on their strength and skill. Taken off-guard, the akuma only took moments to defeat.

Adrien ran into his first problem when it came to capturing the akuma. He tried several times on his own, before finally handing the yo-yo over to the former Ladybug. She captured it easily, and handed it back over to him to release. Then they only had one problem to deal with.

Alya.

Thankfully, she had the good sense to hold herself back until the now freed akuma victim had moved out of hearing range.

“Ohmigod, this is so amazing!” She shouted. “Has this ever happened before? Do you still have the same powers? Or are they swapped? Oh my god! You both have green eyes now! And Chat- er, Lady… wait, you’re Adrien! Adrien, you actually have green eyes! I mean, I knew you did, but there’s this big debate online about whether Chat Noir really has green or his mask just make them look like that. I need pics! Hold still. Or move around, whatever. Are the changes to your suit permanent, or will they go back to normal...”

Adrien tuned her out, and looked of his partner's new suit. He was delighted to find that her eyes were tinted by the mask as his once were, and now appeared to be an emerald green. This almost made up for the fact that she didn’t wear his signature cat ears and bell. But she’d apparently had her own take on Chat Noir’s suit.

At first glance, her suit looked black, but as Adrien watched her move, he realized that there was a mottled pattern of gray, brown, and black. Where once the belt had been, there was a solid black sash, with a light gold fringe. The baton, too, was now gold as well. Her blue-black hair was pulled back into a braid.

“Lady… Chat- Ladychat? You okay?”

Alya’s enquiry made Adrien realize that Ladybug hadn’t said anything since the akuma had been purified, and he suddenly noticed that she looked like she was about to faint.

“M’lady?” He asked, alarmed. “What’s wrong?”

That seemed to break the spell.

“You’re Adrienoir!” She squealed. “I mean, Chat Agreste! Augh! Chat Noir is Adrien Agreste!”

Alya chuckled. “Girl, you’re worse than Marinette talking to him.”

“Al-ya!” Ladybug whined.

“It’s okay.” Adrien grinned. “I’d probably react the same way if I know who you were, m’lady!”

Ladybug took a breath, and tried to talk normally. “You… you…”

“What’s the matter, Femme Noir?” Alya teased. “Cat got your tongue?”

“You stupid cat!”

Adrien was taken aback, literally. He moved a full pace backward at the force of her words. That was not what he expected.

“What the hell is wrong with you?!" Ladybug fumed. "All the stupid stunts you pulled to protect me. Dark Cupid, Zombiezou- Timebreaker! Stupid, stupid, stupid! And not worth the risk!”

Alya grinned and switched her camera to video. Just cause she couldn’t put it on the blog didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to record this. For posterity, of course.

“Of course it was worth it! I did it to protect you!”

“I don’t need you to protect me!”

“Yes, you do! We need each other!”

“I know! I know we need each other! That’s why I’m mad at you! I need you! And every time we fight an akuma, I’m terrified I’m gonna lose you because you’re going to do something stupid protecting me! A crush, anyone’s crush, isn’t worth that!”

“That’s not why I do it!”

“Then why?”

“You’re the only one who can cleanse the akumas!” Adrien pointed a thumb at himself. “ _I’m_ replaceable! You can find another Chat Noir. But you _are_ Ladybug.”

“You're not replaceable, Chat! You're my partner. And you only say that about me because you don’t know who I am. If you knew who I really was, you wouldn’t say that."

"I may not know your identity, but I know you! I-" His voice faltered but for a moment. "I care about you."

Her voice softened a little, but kept the reprimanding tone. "You fell for a mask, Chat. Ladybug… doesn’t really exist. She’s just the person I have to be sometimes.”

“I didn’t fall for Ladybug. I fell in love with the girl who wears her mask. I fell in love with _you_!”

Ladybug gasped, and Adrien felt a deep blush overtake his cheeks. He'd told Marinette before, but this was different. This was Ladybug. And Adrien didn't have Chat's mask to hide behind this time. Literally or figuratively.

Alya had been watching, eyes wide. Only the beeping of their miraculouses interrupted the tense silence. Ladybug instinctively reached for her earrings before remembering that she wasn’t wearing them, and looked at the ring. There was only one pawpad left.

“You’re about to change back.” Adrien said.

“So are you.” She replied quietly. She couldn't bring herself to look at him again, and he felt his heart sink.

He tried not to let it show, so he shrugged. “Yeah, but both of you already know who I am. You better get going.”

She started to twist the ring off her finger. “The miraculouses- we have to switch them back-”

“We’ll figure it out.” Adrien assured her. “There probably won’t be another akuma for a while. I’ll call you once your kwa- your miraculous is charged up. We'll meet up later.”

Ladybug hesitated, but the ring beeped again, and she nodded. Just before she left, she turned back, and shouted into the warehouse. "I'm not done yelling at you for taking stupid risks, Chat!"

He smiled. _Well. She may not return my feelings, but at least she cares for me some way._

"Looking forward to it, m'lady!" Adrien shouted after her.

Then it was only him and Alya left.

“So, technically…” Alya said after a while. “I did find out Ladybug’s identity.”

He shot her a confused glance. “Huh?”

She nodded at him, and he looked down, and the realization hit him that he was wasn’t wearing his own suit. The thought had barely registered, however, when the miraculous beeped, and Adrien remembered the other secret he was meant to keep - the kwamis.

“No, no, nonono!” He cried as the transformation dropped, and a red kwami reformed in front of him. Adrien looked from her, to Alya, not knowing what to do.

“It’s okay, Adrien.” Ladybug’s kwami said. “It’s not ideal, but Alya _can_ be trusted.”

“But no one’s supposed to know about you and Plagg!”

“It's not like she's the first kwami I've met.” The words were out of Alya’s mouth before she could stop them. She placed a hand over her mouth, looking apologetic.

Tikki reprimanded her. "Al-ya!" 

"Sorry, Tikki." Alya said.

Adrien paled slightly as his mind was set racing. If Alya had met another kwami, then she must have a miraculous. Or knew someone who had one. He, Ladybug, and Master Fu were all to careful to let anyone know about their kwamis. So it had to be yet another miraculous user. And the first other miraculous user that came to mind was... Hawkmoth. But Tikki trusted her. Did Alya know who Hawkmoth was? Did Ladybug? Why were they keeping it a secret? Were they spying on Hawkmoth and why was he being left out? Didn't Ladybug trust him? But wait, how did she find out in the first place?

Luckily, Alya soon realized what Adrien must be thinking, and hurried to assure him. “No! No. I’m Rena Rouge. Not Hawkmoth. Rouge. You know, if you need superhero tips, you’ll give me Ladybug’s number?”

"She's right." Tikki confirmed, but she looked incredibly displeased. "Like I said, Alya can be trusted."

Adrien breathed a sigh of relief.

“Well, this wasn’t how I planned on finding out your identity.” He said with a wry smile. “Or how I planned to reveal mine. Some surprise,  huh?”

Alya shrugged."I kinda suspected already."

He was dumbfounded. "What!? How? When? How did I give it away?"

She laughed at his panic. She eventually told him, however.

"You didn't do anything to make me think it. I suspected everyone. I just took a picture of you and drew a Chat Noir mask on you. Here, I'll show you." She handed her phone to him.

He hummed absently in agreement, but he pouted worriedly. "You didn't show this to anybody, right?"

"Just Marinette." Alya assured him, but a stab of guilt hit her. Marinette had a crush on Adrien. Adrien was Chat Noir. Chat Noir was in love with Ladybug. And Ladybug was... not. Alya shoved those thoughts aside and kept talking. "If you're worried about her telling anybody, she won't. She didn't believe me in the first place, and even if she did remember, she's always the one telling me that superhero's identities should remain a secret. Beside, that girl has plenty of her own secrets that she doesn't even tell me. Seriously, you wouldn't believe the kind of stuff she's made up."

Adrien relaxed enough to laugh a little. "Her and Ladybug should start a secret identity club."

"Heroes Anonymous."

"Alter Ego Association."

"Frequent Liar's club."

They laughed a little together before the conversation grew serious once more.

“You think that now we both know, Ladybug will tell us hers?" Alya asked. "Not so I can put it on the blog obviously, but just, as a team. We could work better together if we all knew each other's identies."

Adrien shook his head. “I don’t think so. Aside from the fact that I think she'd rather give up her miraculous altogether than reveal her identity, Ladybug’s the only one who can cleanse the akumas. If Hawkmoth found out who she was in real life, then it's make it easier for him to take it. If he got my miraculous, it's be bad, but if he got Ladybug's, it'd be over! Without her ability to cleanse the akuma..."

"Stoneheart." Alya finished. "But you mean, your ability to cleanse the akumas, right?" She reminded him. “At least until you and Ladybug swap your miraculouses back.”

“Right.” Adrien said uneasily. "Come on. We probably shouldn't hang out around here any longer than we have to."

Tikki hid herself just inside Adrien’s outer shirt, just where Plagg did. They left the warehouse and started walking back in the general direction of home. 

Adrien hoped there really wouldn’t be another akuma. He could be Chat Noir, heck, anybody could, especially his lady. Chat Noir was the sidekick. Anybody could be the sidekick. But being Ladybug was a whole other story. She was the real superhero. For maybe the first time, he began to understand why she had been so unsure of herself when they'd started out. Tikki seemed to read his mind.

"It's going to be fine." She peeked out and smiled at him. "This is only temporary. Soon enough, you'll  get your own miraculous back and everything will go back to normal."

He smiled back, and hoped that she was right. In the meantime...

"Hey, can I ask you a couple questions? For the Ladyblog?"

He had some damage control to do.

"Actually, I have another idea."


End file.
